


An Awkward Mystery

by CaptainL95



Category: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Genre: Gen, Omorashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 13:47:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20908658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainL95/pseuds/CaptainL95
Summary: Sissel's quest to unravel the mystery of his own death, spiraled out of control into a host of other mysteries, is interrupted by the untimely, unlikely, and unseemly death of Lynne. But a death is a death, and the two have to avert her worst death yet.





	An Awkward Mystery

_1:28 AM_

Temsik Park. I've heard so much about this place in tonight's tangled ribbon of mystery, and the path of the phantom has finally brought me here. As I approach the receiver of the phone I've dialed to reach this place, I realize I've actually been here already. Not for long, granted, but I did save the life of a police officer located here a few hours ago. Perhaps this time, I'll finally discover what "Temsik" is.

My name is Sissel...I think. I died earlier this evening, but I'm still here. I'm a ghost, with some special powers to boot. I can manipulate inanimate objects, and I can save others from my fate. By rewinding time to four minutes before the death of any fresh body, I can avert their gruesome end, a power I've had to use many times in my short time of possessing it. All in the name of solving my own enigma. Who was I? Why was I killed? What other forces are at play?

First things first, I've got my own detective to meet up with. Right off the bat, I can't see the redhead, and that's got me worried. This would be, what? Death number five in this night alone? If I didn't have the power to undo death, she'd have been doomed ages ago. "I should probably find her. Or at least her corpse." Entering the ghost world, I can see the nondescript silhouette of my little lady, and she's laying on the ground. "Can't say I'm surprised." I jump across various objects to get close, and connect to her core to meet her disconnected spirit.

In an instant, I was met with her angry face. "Hey, what do you think you're looking at?!"

"If you're embarrassed about being seen while dead, Lynne, you're a little late on it. I thought you were used to it by now."

"Oh, it's just you, Sissel. Well, there's plenty of reason for a beautiful woman like me to be naturally worried in a park alone in the middle of the night. I'm just being proactive."

"Alright, I'll just hurry up and rewind time to save you. I want to get your next canceled funeral over with so we can get back to the important stuff."

Lynne reeled back upon hearing of her impending resurrection, even though, by all respects, this should be routine by now. That's the impression I got from her previous, scarily jaunty reactions to death. _I don't have a choice, but...how can I hide that part,_ she thought.

"No secrets in the ghost world, remember?" Ghosts don't so much speak as beam thoughts directly to the other party in the conversation, and thoughts meant to stay internal were included in that. "So does this secret you're hiding impact me in any way?"

Lynne stayed quiet this time, pouting but still refusing eye contact, so I hope it wasn't important. Though, if it had something to do with her death, I suppose I'll find out soon enough. I rewind time to solve this riddle, so I can return to the actual story. Somehow, I get the feeling this one won't impact anything.

Four minutes before death, we can't act yet, now is the time to just observe the road to passing. So far, there's nothing interesting, Lynne's entering the park and leaning against a small, aged gray building, and looking around for anyone else. Given the hit taken out on here a mere few hours ago, and the fact that she might still be a police fugitive, can't say I blame her for being cautious.

The part piquing my curiosity, however, is how she's still moving. She hasn't drifted from her spot on the wall, but her legs are shifting around, with her knees rubbing together. She was cradling herself in her own arms, gripping the edges of her yellow jacket. "Are you cold, Lynne?" That's something I can sympathize with, I've always liked things warm, not that I can feel temperature anymore.

Surprisingly, the detective stayed quiet. That was a weird feeling, Lynne was always loud and in charge whenever she was part of the conversation, I'm just used to hearing her by now. It wouldn't be incorrect to claim she's as quiet as the dead, but this doesn't seem like the time to make jokes. Actually, the fact that she's ignoring a veritable ghost is frustrating. "If you're trying to hide something, it doesn't matter. I'm about to see whatever you're keeping from me." Once again, the silent treatment, so I just start ignoring her too.

Finally, the living Lynne makes a move. She disappears behind a barrier on the left half of the building, I didn't even realize it wasn't a flat wall from this angle. But it's easy to adjust our viewing, so long as I don't try and act, and I take a peek around the obstruction. Looks like it was keeping a door out of view, marked by a symbol I don't recognize, and Lynne wants to get in. She's making no progress, however, the door handle won't budge. "Really, locked," she growls in disbelief, and runs to a similar door with a similar marking on the opposite end. As expected, both entrances are sealed.

Her teeth are clenched, it's pretty clear she's angry at being denied entrance, I just can't figure out why she's so determined to get in. "Do you think the music box ended up in this building?" Not that I would have gotten an answer, but there wasn't time for one, Lynne threw her arms up in defeat and ran behind the building, where I found her. "Nothing's happened yet, so only what happens in this final minute matters. This'll be the easiest case yet."

Finally, the spirit snapped. "Alright, fine, if you're going to pry! I had to leak really bad! The bathroom doors were locked, what the hell else was I supposed to do?" Just to prove the point, her physical counterpart looked around once more and, finding no onlookers, lifted up her police uniform skirt. Her pantyhose and red underwear were pulled down soon after, to the top of her tall boots, and she squatted close to the ground.

Now it all made sense, the little lady needed to relieve herself. Did she ever, with how much is steadily pouring out and puddling beneath her. I'm not the type of man to look at a woman compromised like this, and my focus turns instead to her face, which is relaxed and sighing in total bliss. Can't say I blame her, all things considered. The real question is, "how does this lead to your death?"

"That's your only reaction," spirit Lynne asked incredulously.

"Sure, why wouldn't it be? You're not doing anything particularly unusual." I shrug it off, I don't really care what she's doing, the vital thing is her impending demise, which is finally here. The puddle continued to grow to a large diameter, reaching the wall of the building she was using for cover. That's when I notice something wrong with an electrical outlet mounted on the concrete, namely the wire casing leading up to it being broken and exposed. When the liquids reached the fraying, all the pieces came together. A spark of life from electricity, conducting through water, and Lynne falls over dead. It's kind of scary how quick human life can be extinguished.

"Okay, I can understand having hits on me, but two accidental deaths?" The memories of a ghost are shaky, if they're present at all, Lynne only realized how her departure unfolded after seeing it. But where most are stunned or sullen witnessing their passing, she's used to it and remains in good spirits, her usual self to me. "What are we supposed to do about that?"

"You certainly recovered quickly. Well, it seems the easiest solution is that you just don't go back there. That'd avoid the problem entirely."

"Not happening," she answered curtly. "You saw what happened at the Chicken Kitchen."

"Yes, but I don't see how that's relevant."

"I drank three big glasses of water! And I've been busy all night, either running around for evidence or being held in custody, I haven't had a break yet! There is zero chance I'm not going to pee right then. It's your job to protect me so I can do it in peace." She seems pretty proud that she's passing that duty off.

Still, even with the handicap of not having any influence over the soon-to-be victim, this still seems pretty simple. In fact, I've already got a solution in mind as the timer resets and the four minutes begin anew. Starting from where she'll fall, I jump across the park's scattered debris to the first door she's going to check. "You've got a plan, Sissel?"

"Once you go behind the building, it's all over. So, the key is stopping you right up front. And if you can get into this room, you won't have any reason to look for something else. So I use a trick to unlock this door..."

"...and I get to use an actual toilet instead," Lynne finished. "Alright, good plan!" We waited until the living detective put her hand on the door handle. To be safe, I only use my trick at the last second, in case it only worked for a limited time or if something internal broke.

There's a click as my alteration is successful, and the steel door opens before its user. "Oh thank everything, it's open," Lynne exclaims, a big smile on her face, as she runs into the dark room. I can't see her anymore, not without entering the ghost world, but her muttering is still audible from this distance. "Ew, this is my only option?" She sounds apprehensive, and she's hesitating. "Is it even worth it?"

I'm not sure what she's talking about, but the Lynne in my company has personal insight to the matter. "Sounds like it's disgusting enough that I don't want to use it. I should have expected that, honestly. Public bathrooms are always awful. How about opening the other door, Sissel?"

"If they're all so awful, how do you expect this other one to be an improvement?"

"I've heard the guy's room is usually cleaner, and I'm desperate as hell. If no one else is around, I've got no problem trying it, I'm not some delicate damsel!"

_ Ain't that the truth,_ I think, knowing full well she'll hear. I stretch my soul towards that other door, but my short reach isn't anywhere near enough to reach that handle, and there are no cores anywhere on that end. So, unless there's a complicated series of other objects to move, I'm not getting there.

And I don't have the time to try, because Lynne emerges from the shadow, still talking to herself. "Ugh, I'm seriously about to lose it, I can't hold out much longer." She turned back to the room behind her, considering using it anyway despite her concerns. "I'll check the guy's room, if not..." She didn't need to finish the thought, I knew what would happen.

I can't even use the detective as transportation, she doesn't have anything on her person to connect to, and I can't talk to anyone in the past. Instead, I can only watch as she futilely pulls the handle, only for it to not budge. "Damn." She grips the front of her skirt and one of her legs starts shaking hard. "That's it, I'm popping a squat behind the building!" She hurries away, pretty fast for someone holding herself.

_ That didn't change her fate at all?!_ It's not like I had anything to work with here, and I certainly can't do anything now. _Maybe I needed to do something further away while I still have the chance?_ I prepare to restart the sequence, get ready to enter the trial-and-error phase of life-saving. I don't think anyone would trust me with their most precious possession if they knew I handled it with such a loose and experimental touch.

"Sissel, can I ask a favor," Lynne asked, back in that bashful tone. "Don't abuse your ability to rewind infinitely, fix this as quickly as possible."

"I already said it doesn't matter to me what you're doing, why would I care about seeing it?"

"Because I just don't like being seen! Didn't you see me looking around, ensuring I had privacy before I did anything?" That's a good point, she had been very careful up to this point, though it did nothing to prevent any deaths. Even in her current state, if there was some sound that could convince her she wasn't alone, she just might stop.

That's another idea I can work with, at least as a starting point. "Lynne, how much noise would it take before you get paranoid about having company?"

She's a smart girl, she caught on quickly. "Probably not much, the real concern is whether I'll physically be able to stop. I've never been very good at that."

"You're the kind that sees everything through to the end."

The redhead laughed. "I guess that's a way of looking at it. You get to making noise, I guarantee I'm going to rush to get to a point I can hold the rest."

"Let's just hope that's enough." It's not often my objective is to be noticed, usually I'm naturally stealthy and unknown until it's time to strike, this could be a fun divergence. _This'll be easy. How many times am I going to say that before it's true?_ I jump to the nearest piece of playground equipment, ready to start my mayhem.

Messing with all the toys is a simple matter, pushing the seat held by loud, rusty chains, spinning a hollow globe with an orange ball banging around inside it, raising and lowering this lever device with another ball sitting on its surface. I'm having a great time, and it's definitely raising some din. No way this is going unnoticed.

Elsewhere, alive Lynne has realized something's up. She hasn't called out for fear that it might be hostile, but she's wary and keeping an ear out, not an easy task over the crashing torrent directly below her drowning out most other sounds. "Really, now? Why is it so hard for a girl to just be allowed to whiz?" She hugged her knees and leaned her body forward into her thighs, but the waterfall didn't slow.

I won't be deterred so easily. I focus on one contraption at a time, making it seem more like it's an actual person in a location rather than a scattering of tricks. It's working, our target is breathing heavier, starting to panic. "Come on, come on! You need to hurry up, bladder!" She's urging herself on, spinning her hand to speed through nature's call.

I thought her flow was large before, but it's got nothing on how she's amplifying it. If she had started like this, she'd probably be in her own world, senses isolated from all surroundings. Unfortunately, the huge volume she's adding is only making her pool expand faster, reducing the clock we have. She's straining, her face is red as its cap and sweating, it's clear she's trying to stop, it just might not be enough.

With a display of effort and willpower anyone could be proud of, the golden tide cut off abruptly. There's still a few small drops in a light dribble, but Lynne doesn't care, she pulls up her clothes without any kind of wait, there's a few tiny rivulets running down her leggings if one were to look closely. She takes one large step away, before realizing she can't handle that kind of motion. Instead, she presses her legs together and hobbles away.

"Alright, who's out here?! Is it you, Sissel?" Excellent guess, but she still looked over the park for any signs of life, at least in the immediate area. She gained quite some distance, finding absolutely nothing. "Alone, good, thank you so much!" She ducked behind a not-so-modest tree trunk, again ripping her underwear off and squatting down. Clearly not her first choice, but she probably couldn't make it back to the building in time.

"Looks like this part isn't so easily changed," I muse, half waiting for this relocation to lead to another death. I really expected it, until she peeked out from behind the foliage and reemerged, standing, fully dressed, and calm. _Fate averted._

Time jumped forward, back to the present, where Lynne is looking at a giant rock with a face past all the children's fixtures. And it looks like the chef from the Chicken Kitchen has joined in the meantime, minding his own business on the swinging seat. _I don't know if it would have helped or hurt if he had arrived earlier._ He's no concern of me, so I jump over and connect to Lynne. "All's well with you?"

"Not exactly, I half-wet my panties with all the little things I let out, and I'm not going to get a chance to change. I'd go commando if my skirt wasn't so short. But I'm alive, so thanks again for that. I really would have hated to meet my end by peeing." For something she was so shy about when I got here, she's pretty shameless about it now. "But forget about that, there's something else you need to look at." Okay, she's still pretty quick to brush past it.

As requested, I enter the ghost world to get a better view of important things, and what a surprise, there's a corpse under this boulder. There's no time to dwell on the little lady's struggle now, with another murder on our hands. With the moon lowering from its perch at the apex of the starry sky, I connect to the dead body, hopeful this one will be another clue to the sweeping puzzle of the night.


End file.
